The Chicago Cubs ' hopes of catching the Milwaukee Brewers at the top of the NL Central are all but dead. They would have essentially needed to sweep their four-game set with the squad last week, but they walked away with a solid split.
To be sure, stealing all three in Milwaukee to begin this second week of September would at least give them the smallest of chances, but they would need a pretty epic collapse by the Brewers to follow. The two teams are separated by 7.0 games, with only 18 left to go for the Cubs.
Nevertheless, the series remains as important as ever for the North Siders. Thanks to an ugly end to August, they are very much in a tight race for the top Wild Card spot. The Philadelphia Phillies continue to surge and are 7-3 in their last ten games. A mere half-game stands between the two right now, with the Cubs holding the slightest edge.
The good news for Chicago is that Philly will at least have their own tough series to deal with, as they welcome the Atlanta Braves into Citizens Bank Park this afternoon.
Who: Chicago Cubs (81-62) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (88-56)
Where: American Family Field
When: 1:10 PM CT
Watch: Marquee Sports Network
Listen: 104.3 The Score
1. Pete Crow-Armstrong
, CF
2. Seiya Suzuki
, DH
3. Alex Bregman
, 3B
4. Tyrone Taylor
, LF
5. Nico Hoerner
, SS
6. Matt Shaw
, RF
7. Carson Kelly
, C
8. BJ Murray
Jr., 1B
9. Pedro Ramrez, 2B
Craig Counsell is throwing a whole new look at the Milwaukee Brewers for this Holiday matchup. While the top three spots remain the same for Chicago against a lefty, Tyrone Taylor will now get a chance to bat clean-up.
To Taylor's credit, he has been on fire in recent weeks, hitting .486 over his last 15 games. He even left the last Brewers series with six hits and six RBIs. Especially against lefties, whom he's hitting .326 against this season, the Cubs have to find a way to get him steady at-bats right now.
Matt Shaw is also back in the lineup after not starting four straight games. Another player who has done some of his best work against lefties, Shaw will be in right field and push Seiya Suzuki to the DH spot.
Easily the biggest change of the day, however, comes at first base. Michael Busch will get the day off for recent call-up BJ Murray Jr. It will mark Murray's second start of his career, the first of which came against Milwaukee in the DH spot last week. When the Cubs did choose to add Murray to the expanded roster, it felt like the plan may be to get Busch some extra rest, as he's most comfortable at third and first.
Anyhow, Murray entering the lineup means Carson Kelly is bumped to the seventh spot. This gives Murray a chance to hit eighth before the Cubs round out with Pedro Ramrez at ninth. For what it's worth, Ramrez has only been stationed last in the lineup in nine games this season.
1. Jackson Chourio
, LF
2. Brice Turang
, 2B
3. William Contreras
, C
4. Andrew Vaughn
, 1B
5. Christian Yelich
, DH
6. Luis Lara, RF
7. Cooper Pratt, SS
8. Garrett Mitchell
, CF
9. Joey Ortiz
, 3B
Aug 26, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd (16) throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Matthew Boyd's last start came against this same Milwaukee Brewers team. He went 5.1 innings, allowing seven hits and 3 earned runs. After a short-lived stint under a 4.00 ERA, the outing bumped him back up to a 4.05 on the season.
Still, there aren't many other Cubs arms you would want on the mound to start this series. Boyd remains a steady hand with some of the best command on the team. Especially against an offense as potent as the Brewers', it's nice to have someone with his off-speed stuff ready to roll.
Robert Gasser allowed only 2 earned runs on three hits in his last appearances against the Cubs. He has been fantastic at limiting hard contact this season thanks to having an arsenal that's really tough to read. He mostly leans on low-90s fastballs but also has a sweeper that loves to catch the bottom of the plate.
With that said, Gasser doesn't go very deep into games and will certainly allow some men on base. The Cubs would love to get him back to the dugout even earlier than normal and force the Brewers to dive deep into their bullpen early in this series.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/cubs/onsi as Cubs vs. Brewers Lineup: No Busch? Shaw Starts, Taylor Moved Up, More .
